Smooth outline undergarment



Jan. 9, 1968 T. H. P. JAGGERS, JR 3,362,410

SMOOTH OUTLINE UNDERGARMENT Filed Feb. 1, 1965 I 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN V EN TOR. 771 01418 H. P- JA 6 6305 JR 1963. I T H. P. JAG-sans, JR 3,362,410

v SMOOTH uTLiNE UNDERGAR'ME-NT Filed Feb. 1,1965- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIINVENTOR.

moms MP. JAGGE'RS an.

3,362,410 SMOOTH OUTLINE UNDERGARMENT Thomas H. P. Jagger's, Jr., Dover, Del., assignor to International Playtex Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 429,519 3 Claims. or. 128-540) This invention is an improved foundation garment which provides a smooth outline in the vicinity of its e ges.

Prior art foundation garments such as girdles which have elastic edgings at the top or bottom edges cause excessive localized pressure on the body and depress the wearers flesh at adjacent areas. Unsightly wrinklings in the girdle and in the outer garment are also created.

This excessive pressure is caused by the conventional technique of overlapping the elastic edging and the girdle fabric. Basically this results in the overlapping portion of the girdle being thicker and more bulky than either the girdle fabric or the elastic edging alone and this bulkier construction presses more tightly against the wearers body and causes indention and puckering of the skin and flesh. Where the wearer of the girdle is obese and there is more flesh to be controlled, a greater amount of puckering is created which compounds the problem.

According to my invention, a foundation garment of the girdle type is provided with an elastic band having a relatively thin lip portion and a relatively thicker body portion, the lip being sewn to the inner face of the girdle at a generally horizontal edge of the girdle, and the body portion being spaced from such edge. The body portion of the band is no thicker than the combined thicknesses of the girdle fabric and the lip where they are joined together to provide a smooth, co-planar surface along the outer face of the girdle.

On living models, who generally experience puckering of their skin atthe edges of their girdles, I have observed that puckering is much less evident with my girdle construction.

Perhaps most significant of all is that the stretch and strength properties of the joined girdle fabric and elastic band are interrelated to make a girdle that does not cause unsightly and uncomfortable puckering, and the stretch and strength characteristics of the girdle fabric proper, of the body of the elastic band, and of the area Where the lip is sewn to the girdle fabric, are essentially the same.

A girdle constructed in accordance with my invention surprisingly accommodates to the contour of the body at the top and bottom of the girdle instead of creating excessive localized pressure and puckering.

Another important feature of my invention is that since the outer surfaces of the girdle fabric and elastic band are smooth and flush, outer garments will not catch onto the girdle and hang up in an unsightly manner.

Proceeding now to a more detailed description of the invention, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings which are to be understood as being illustrative and not limitative of the invention.

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation view of my improved garment.

FIGURE 2 is a rear elevational view of the garment shown in FIG. 1.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of the garment taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of my invention.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of my invention.

FIGURE 6 is an isometric illustration of a prior art girdle on the female torso.

FIGURE 7 is an isometric illustration of my girdle on the female torso.

Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively illustrate front and back elevations of a girdle according to my invention. In this embodiment a major portion of the girdle, designated as numeral 10, is constructed of any type girdle material such as dipped latex, elastic cloth, or a laminate of the two. The girdle fabric 10 preferably makes up that portion of the girdle which conforms to the hip and buttock areas of the wearers torso. Connected, for example, by conventional stitching techniques, is a front panel portion 12 which substantially conforms to the abdomen of the wearers torso. Accordingly, approximately 300 degrees of the girdle comprises the girdle fabric 10, whereas the remaining 60 degrees comprise the front panel 12, which provides additional support for the abdomen.

The upper vertical edges of the girdle fabric 10 and thevertical edges of the front panel 12 are joined by stitching 14 and 16. The girdle of FIGS. 1 and 2 also includes a crotch portion 18, which is connected to the girdle fabric 10 by front and rear stitching 20 and 22, an elastic waist band 24 connected to the upper horizontal edges of the girdle fabric 10 and to the front panel 12 by stitching 30 and 31, and left and right elastic leg bands 26 and 28 respectively being connected to the left and right lower horizontal edges of the girdle fabric 10 and crotch portion 18 by stitching 32 and 33 and 34 and 35 respectively.

Conventional garter strap holders (not shown) may be attached at spaced points along the lower body or edge of the girdle fabric 10 by conventional techniques.

In this embodiment of my invention the girdle fabric 10 is preferably of all-way stretch material, as indicated I by the stretch arrows, while the front panel 12, crotch portion 18, waist band 24 and leg bands 26 and 28 are preferably of one-way stretch material, also as indicated by the corresponding stretch arrows.

Referring now to FIG. 3 there is shown a cross-sectional view of the right elastic leg band 28 taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

The elastic leg band 28 is constructed at least in part of elastic threads to provide the desired stretch characteristics, such as one-way as shown by the stretch arrows of FIG. 1. Elastic band 28 comprises a relatively thin longitudinal lip portion 36 which is connected to the girdle fabric 10 by stitching 34 and 35, while the relatively thick longitudinal body portion 38 lies flush with the lower edge of the girdle fabric 10, as shown at 40, thus providing a smooth outer surface. The stretch characteristics of the body portion of the elastic band, e.g., the force required to stretch a given sample a given distance, are essentially the same as those of the girdle fabric while the stretch characteristics of the lip 36 are considerably less than that of the body of the band. In this way, the stretch characteristics of the girdle in the area 42, where the extending lip 36 and girdle fabric 10 are joined, is advantageously reduced over that of prior art constructions to provide a less stiff edging (see FIG- URES 3, 4 and 5). This reduces the pressure applied by the band 28 to the wearers flesh and uniquely prevents puckering. In effect, my invention provides an edging construction whereby the constricting or control characteristics of the band 28 more nearly matches the control characteristics of the girdle fabric 10, particularly in the area 42 where the lip 36 overlies the girdle fabric 10. It is important that the elastic band be so constructed that no bowing or curving of the lip 36 occurs, as by uneven tensions in the fabric, since this complicates the production of a smooth girdle.

A most unexpected and bonus feature of the invention Patented Jan. 9, 15,68

is that the need to conventionally finish the lower horizontal edges of the girdle fabric 10 is virtually eliminated. That is to say, stitching 34 and 35 holds the lower horizontal edge of the girdle fabric 10 against the abutting edge of the body 38 and prevents it from unraveling or otherwise coming apart. This is in contradistinction to conventional practice where one or more folds are made in the bottom area of the girdle to join it with the elastic edging, thus creating several bulky thicknesses of fabric.

The elastic edging 28 may be an integral elastic fabric or otherwise constructed. The area of lip 36 may be varied depending upon the amount of surface area required to be joined to the girdle fabric 10, while the vertical dimension of body portion 38 may be varied depending upon the amount of edging required. Further, the thickness of the body portion 38 is no thicker than the combined thicknesses of the lip 36 and girdle fabric 10 so as to provide a smooth outer surface.

FIGURES 4 and illustrate alternate embodiments of the elastic band of the invention. Elastic bands 28' and 28" are similar in all respects to band 28 except each further includes a second elastic lip 46 and 48, respectively. Elastic lips 46 and 48 may be used to attach accessories, such as garters, or for attaching decorative materials such as lace.

FIGURES 6 and 7 are included to comparatively illustrate the appearance of a girdle having conventional overlapped elastic edging and a girdle in accordance with the present invention. Observe in FIG. 6 the puckering of the Wearers skin as at 50 and 52 in contrast to the relatively smooth contour of the Wearers skin as shown at 54 and 56 of FIG. 7.

My invention is by no means limited to the particular embodiments shown in the drawings, but is equally applicable to all type of girdles, whether regular or panty, rubber or cloth, or whether made of a combination of rubber and cloth.

For example the panels may be inelastic as well as elastic throughout the entire garment except for a required minimum of one panel which must be stretchable. In addition, the panels may be part elastic and part inelastic as in known gore or insert constructions. The bodyencircling panels may consist of side, rear and front panels, or the side and rear panels may be merged into one.

It is to be understood that the present invention also is not limited to the specific details of the embodiments described and illustrated in the drawings, but various changes and adaptions may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as herein described and defined.

I claim:

1. A foundation garment adapted to encircle and confine the lower part of the body including a stretchable band connected to at least one edge of a portion of the foundation garment, the band comprising a stretchable fabric having a body portion and at least one thin lip portion extending from said body portion, one surface of the body portion and one surface of a thin lip portion being co-planar with their opposite surfaces forming a step-abutment at the intersection of the body portion and the lip portion, the lip portion being attached to a face of the foundation garment at an edge thereof and the edge being in abutment with the body portion of the band, whereby the surface of the body portion of the band is substantially co-planar with the outer face of the fabric in the foundation garment so as to present a smooth outline when on the wearer.

2. The foundation garment of claim 1, in which said stretchable band has both upper and lower lip portions, the upper lip portion is secured to an edge of the fundation garment and the lower lip portion is secured to an accessory member, whereby the outer surfaces of the body portion of the band, the outer surface of the foundation garment and the accessory member are substantially co-planar so as to present a smooth outline when on the wearer.

3. The foundation garment of claim 1 in which said stretchable band has oppositely extending, co-planar lip portions, one lip portion is attached to one portion of the foundation garment and the other lip portion is attached to another portion of the foundation garment to form a seam-abutment with the body portion of the band, whereby the outer surfaces of the body portion of the band and the foundation garment are substantially coplanar, so as to present a smooth outline when on the wearer.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,059,647 10/1962 Murdock 128535 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,300,964 7/1962 France.

4,763 12/ 1895 Great Britain. 18,969 9/ 1895 Great Britain.

ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner. 

1. A FOUNDATION GARMENT ADAPTED TO ENCIRCLE AND CONFINE THE LOWER PART OF THE BODY INCLUDING A STRETCHABLE BAND CONNECTED TO AT LEAST ONE EDGE OF A PORTION OF THE FOUNDATION GARMENT, THE BAND COMPRISING A STRETCHABLE FABRIC HAVING A BODY PORTION AND AT LEAST ONE THIN LIP PORTION EXTENDING FROM SAID BODY PORTION, ONE SURFACE OF THE BODY PORTION AND ONE SURFACE OF A THIN LIP PORTION BEING CO-PLANAR WITH THEIR OPPOSITE SURFACES FORMING A STEP-ABUTMENT AT THE INTERSECTION OF THE BODY PORTION 